Kitty Dunn

D-Day 70 years later: Kitty's dad's story

by Kitty Dunn,posted Jun 5 2014 9:56AM

This week marks the 70th anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy. Twenty years ago I chatted on the phone with my dad about his experience there, and wrote it down so I wouldn't forget. Here's a portion of that story:

The other day I asked my father if he was watching all the TV programs marking the 50th anniversary of D-Day.

"Why in the hell should I watch it? I lived it," he snapped, with more than a little attitude.

I'd heard a few stories over the years about my dad's five years in the Army Air Force, but on the 50th anniversary, I thought I needed a refresher course.

My dad, James T. Dunn, served from 1939-1945. He was a waist gunner and bombardier on B-17's and B-24's, and in June of 1944 was stationed just 50 miles from Omaha Beach. He spent 19 hours in the air on June 6, 1944, 15 of them on oxygen.

"We had to fly around for four hours before we could even get to our plane in line," he told me. "I saw planes I had only seen before in books. Every single plane the Allies had was up in the air. I bet planes that hadn't flown since World War I were up in the sky over France that day."

A weather front had moved in, so during his first mission that day, his crew didn't shoot or drop any bombs because it was too cloudy to see the targets. It was on his second D-Day mission that the real drama happened.

"We were supposed to be the lead plane, but somehow we got lost and didn't have any planes to lead. Even our two hotshot navigators had no idea where we were," he said.

My dad thought they were saved when they saw an airfield just ahead. Heading in for a landing, they were so close to the ground he said they could see a buggy being pulled by a brilliant white horse. "But then piles of dirt surrounding the airfield started shooting at us. A good chunk of our tail was cut off but somehow we got the hell out of there. We weren't sure if the fire was friend or foe, so we didn't dare shoot back," he said. "To this day, I didn't know if were were over Holland or Belgium."

Over the Atlantic Ocean, he said the tension increased and tempers flared.

"Then one of the guys put a handgun to the radio operator's head, shouting "Hampton, if you don't turn on that radio and get us some help, I'll blow your head off." In a flagrant violation of the rules, Hampton broke radio silence. Then, he said, "two British Spitfires came to our rescue and we followed 'em in."

I asked my dad if that was the most scared he'd ever been in his life. He paused, and then told me he didn't have time to be scared. He said he was was "too busy doing his job," adding "but everyone sure did a lot of praying."

My dad, who passed away in 2004, received many medals for his service in World War II, including the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with three clusters. With his crew above, he's in the front row on the far right.

thanks for sharing your Dad's story, Kitty. There will never be a Generation quite like them.
Randi :)

06/07/2014 10:47AM

D-Day 70 years later: Kitty's dad's story

Great story, or I should say, recap of your father's history. I only wish my father-in-law would talk a little more about his WWII experience. His grandkids would remember that their entire lives. You have a piece of history from your dad you will always cherish because HE shared it personally with you. Joyce

There's a lot about Eric Clapton this is pretty much an open book. He stole George Harrison's wife. He's battled many demons, including drugs and alcohol. He got the name Slow Hand because he was terribly slow at changing broken guitar...

There may be snow on the ground again in Madison--but it's time to start thinking about the summer festival season!
Both Summerfest and Lollapalooza have announced headliners.
Headliners at Summerfest will include Kings of Leon, Ed Sheeran,...

The song "Love Jones" by Brighter Side of Darkness would probably have long been forgotten, had Cheech and Chong not done a parody version of the song.
The group, made up of Chicago high school students, scored a top 15 hit with the song in 1973, but...

This won't be enough to make you root for them, but Coastal Carolina's Coach has some pretty cool musical stuff on his resume.
Back in the 1960s, when Cliff Ellis was in college, he was in a garage band called the Villagers, and they cut a...

Nothing screams the 1980's like The Power Station's "Some Like it Hot."
A super-group comprised of Robert Palmer and members of Chic and Duran Duran, The Power Station took this song all the way to #6 in 1985.
Enjoy!

St. Patrick's Day is upon us! Time to wear green, drink beer with green food coloring and talk in bad Irish accents.
Or not.
I have a few St. Patrick's Day pet peeves, and because I am 3/8ths Irish, I feel compelled to share them with...

"Lord Huron began as a solo project by Michigan-born/Los Angeles-based musician Ben Schneider in the spring of 2010. These songs were later released as the Into the Sun EP, and Lord Huron was born. The songs quickly gained recognition and a live band was...

When someone says to you "Sappy 70's music," I bet you automatically think of England Dan and John Ford Coley.
They had a lot of "soft rock" hits during that decade. We put ED and JFC in the same category as Seals and Crofts, Bread, and later--Air...

There's a lot about Eric Clapton this is pretty much an open book. He stole George Harrison's wife. He's battled many demons, including drugs and alcohol. He got the name Slow Hand because he was terribly slow at changing broken guitar...

There may be snow on the ground again in Madison--but it's time to start thinking about the summer festival season!
Both Summerfest and Lollapalooza have announced headliners.
Headliners at Summerfest will include Kings of Leon, Ed Sheeran,...

The song "Love Jones" by Brighter Side of Darkness would probably have long been forgotten, had Cheech and Chong not done a parody version of the song.
The group, made up of Chicago high school students, scored a top 15 hit with the song in 1973, but...

This won't be enough to make you root for them, but Coastal Carolina's Coach has some pretty cool musical stuff on his resume.
Back in the 1960s, when Cliff Ellis was in college, he was in a garage band called the Villagers, and they cut a...

Nothing screams the 1980's like The Power Station's "Some Like it Hot."
A super-group comprised of Robert Palmer and members of Chic and Duran Duran, The Power Station took this song all the way to #6 in 1985.
Enjoy!

St. Patrick's Day is upon us! Time to wear green, drink beer with green food coloring and talk in bad Irish accents.
Or not.
I have a few St. Patrick's Day pet peeves, and because I am 3/8ths Irish, I feel compelled to share them with...

"Lord Huron began as a solo project by Michigan-born/Los Angeles-based musician Ben Schneider in the spring of 2010. These songs were later released as the Into the Sun EP, and Lord Huron was born. The songs quickly gained recognition and a live band was...

When someone says to you "Sappy 70's music," I bet you automatically think of England Dan and John Ford Coley.
They had a lot of "soft rock" hits during that decade. We put ED and JFC in the same category as Seals and Crofts, Bread, and later--Air...